


Colour of Love... and Blood.

by Charlotte (Soana)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, M/M, One Shot, Pain, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 06:39:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18544345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soana/pseuds/Charlotte
Summary: This is how Shiro got bitten.''I'm sorry, Shiro, god.'' Matthew keeps repeating. ''I don't want to lose you-''''You're not gonna lose me.'' Shiro stops him. ''We need to cut it off.''"What- Shiro!"





	Colour of Love... and Blood.

**Author's Note:**

> This... Well- it was supposed to be a Zombie AU Klance Slow Burn. I wrote down the outline for the whole story, it was amazing and all- until I realized it wasn't. But before I fell disapointed with my own story, I wrote down this prologue which can perfectly stand as a One Shot. I felt sad with leaving it to rot in my computer, so here it is!
> 
> Enjoy!

This is how Shiro got bitten.  
  
His weight is supported by Matthew's shoulders, an arm around the smaller one’s neck. He's practically choking him and it makes the journey harder, but none of them have the luxury to stop to adjust their position. Behind them, the Malades are getting closer and closer- but so is the door of the building in front of them. So they don't stop.  
  
He should have left him behind, he knows. Shiro's state could get them both killed. He should save his life while he still can, his old group would have. But he can't. Matthew can't give up on him, he can't abandon Shiro. The man is an important piece of the Lions group of survivors, he's basically running the show. It's thanks to him that their shaky group is still alive today- Matthew can't let him down. Plus, if it was him who got bitten, the man would have never left him behind. So, no. Matthew can't leave him.  
  
Step by step, they manage to close the distance.  
  
Matthew lifts a foot and kicks the door. He tries a second time, and then it opens.  
  
''Come on...!'' he breathes to Shiro, but the bitten man only grunts in response.  
  
They walk into the room. It seems to be an old waiting room. Metallic chairs attached to each other line the walls, and what was once a coffee table lies in pieces onto the ground. The few windows are covered by nailed down wood planks. There is clear evidence that people tried to survive in his room. Where are they now? Matthew isn't sure he wants to know...  
  
He lets Shiro go in a corner where the pieces of the old table won't hurt him, and the man half-sits-half-falls onto the ground. Matthew doesn't wait to see him move around some more, he quickly runs back to the door and closes it before the Malades can get in. Then he turns around to the interior of the room and looks right then left until he spots a large but empty bookshelf which could hold the door closed.  
  
So he gets to work.  
  
Matthew never was a very fit person. Before the epidemic, his superpowers were computers and technology. Sadly, none of it is available today, and it's one of the things he misses the most from the old days. Now, he has no talents, nothing that could be of use. It's on times like these he wishes he could be in one if the Cities, where Malades are kept out and technology is used to save people. But then he quickly remembers that, even if City #23 did give him a Pass, they wouldn't accept to take his family in, too.  
  
The piece of furniture is halfway to the door when a loud bang resonates. Matthew jumps but doesn't stop, every second counts here. Whatever is outside keeps banging on the door, trying to get it to open. If he's too slow, the Malades will smash it open, and they can't afford that. The fragile wood, which was already weakened by Matthew's forceful entrance, trembles under the Malades' impacts.  
  
He pushes a little harder.  
  
Until, finally, the bookshelf is blocking the door. The Malades are still on the other side, tapping, hitting and punching the door, but now they can't enter. Matthew bends over, hands on his knees, and breathes heavily. His large and heavy backpack slides over his spine and bumps the back of his head, but he ignores it. He's exhausted, and terrified, and sweaty, and-  
  
''Matt?''  
  
Matthew turns back to Shiro so fast he feels dizzy afterwards.  
  
''Oh my god, Shiro!''  
  
The memory of what happened comes back to him, and his hands start to shake. He runs to Shiro, abandons his bag somewhere on the way, and drops to his knees in front of him. The shock of his legs bumping onto the floor resonates through him, and his old and cracked glasses slip onto the tip of his nose. He pushes them back up in an unconscious gesture.  
  
Shiro is sat on the ground, left hand holding the injury. His eyebrows are frowned, he is biting his lip and breathing hard, but slowly. He is clearly trying to contain his pained moans and doing all he can to stay calm, because Matthew certainly isn't calm and at least one if them has to be. If they give in to panic, they will both be doomed.  
  
Shiro lets the smaller man grab his bitten right upper arm and pry his hand away to check the injury. Matthew can feel tears starting to from in his light brown eyes.  
  
''God, Shiro- it's not good, I-''  
  
The bite is profound, a bit of flesh is missing — it can probably now be found into a Malade's stomach — and it bleeds. A lot. Matthew doesn't know what to do, he just releases the arm before his shaky hands can aggravate the injury. His eyes are locked onto the bite even after Shiro puts his hand back onto it. No matter how much he wishes he could treat it and heal him, he knows there isn't much to do.  
  
''I'm sorry, Shiro- oh _god_.''  
  
Anyone bitten by a Malade who isn't dead after being eaten alive will become a Malade themselves.  
  
This is the story of the epidemic and the panic that followed the appearance of the very first case. This is the story of the larger Cities' closed doors, trapping a large part of the population outside their walls, where the contaminated are, where the danger is. This is the story of the now Outsiders teaming up in small groups in order to survive, giving a name to their small organizations to be able to recognize each other. This is the story of what Lance calls a 'zombie apocalypse', even if it's not the way the victims of this strange sickness are called.  
  
And this is the story of how Matthew will lose the man who gave him hope after all of this started because he was _five meters away, fighting his own Malades, when Shiro needed him-_  
  
He doesn't want to lose him. Oh, god, he _can't_. He can't lose him. He can't lose anyone from their group. He can't _bear_ losing someone else, even if it's just one of the mice they kinda adopted after they jumped onto Hunk's face from a cupboard.  
  
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realizes he's panicking. His vision is slowly going black at the edges, spots are appearing in the center, his heart is beating fast, the ground is moving, he keeps blinking to get rid of the tears- but his gaze never leaves the bloody hand covering the bite.  
  
It's over.  
  
''Matt, breathe.''  
  
Matthew lifts his head to look at Shiro and it tears him out of his somber thoughts. He breathes in, holding it for a few seconds before letting in out. It helps his heart calm so he does it a second time, but the panic is still here.  
  
''I'm sorry, Shiro, god.'' he keeps repeating. ''I don't want to lose you-''  
  
''You're not gonna lose me.'' Shiro stops him.  
  
Matthew looks a him, then. _Really_ looks at him, and notices Shiro's faint shaking, the sweat dripping over his face, the barely hidden _fear_ in his eyes- the man knows he doesn't have much time anymore. He knows the venom will soon act and he will become one of them. He knows he will lose everything that makes him _him_ and will be left with an empty body, walking around, looking for human flesh, and _rotting_.  
  
And yet, instead of panicking or vomiting his last words like he should be, he's trying to keep Matthew from a panic attack. But Matthew won't have any of this. He is not wasting Shiro's last few hours by being comforted by the dying man. Nope.  
  
He takes another breath.  
  
''What are you talking about?'' he says, his voice trembling no matter how hard he tries to sound calm. ''You're-''  
  
''You are not going to lose me.'' Shiro cuts him off again, the fear in his eyes now covered by fierce determination.  
  
''What.''  
  
Shiro closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and Matthew braces himself for the man's next words. He knows it will be something serious, but he isn't sure he wants to actually know what it is. Because whatever happens now, it will change everything, and he is not ready for more changes- hell, he still has trouble adjusting to this epidemic and it's already been a whole year!  
  
Shiro opens his eyes and dark gray irises focus onto Matthew's light brown ones.  
  
''We need to cut it off.'' he says.  
  
Matthew feels the adrenaline rush back into his veins.  
  
''What- Shiro!'' he shouts, and, already, his calmed heart picks up speed.  
  
What the hell is he talking about? He can't be serious-  
  
''Matt, breathe.'' Shiro prompts before the smaller one can jump head first into another panic attack, so Matthew does.  
  
In, and out. Just like Coran taught them. In, and then out. Slowly.  
  
Yet, he's still afraid and trembling.  
  
When he seems calm enough to Shiro, the man continues.  
  
''Think about it.'' he says, keeping his voice down and soft, speaking to Matthew like he is a scared animal which needs to be treated with caution- and, well, maybe his is. ''We don't have any choice, and if we do it before the venom can spread, it could save me.''  
  
So many things could go wrong with this idea, Matthew doesn't know what to focus on first.  
  
''Maybe but- you'll lose an arm.'' he states.  
  
''I know.'' Shiro admits. ''But it's better than being dead.''  
  
'' _God_...''  
  
The banging on the door suddenly becomes louder as a Malade runs head first into it instead of only using his hands like it usually would have. Matthew jumps onto his feet, turning to the door and grabbing a knife from his boot. The door opens under the shock and strikes the bookshelf in front of it. If Matthew hadn't blocked the door before focusing onto Shiro, they would have been dead.  
  
For a few minutes, they both wait, silent, as Matthew slowly pushes the shelf harder against the only access of the room. The banging has quietened, like the Malades forgot why they were even hitting the door in the first place. Their memory is pretty short. For them, if they can't see a human, then there is no human. Even if they see one going to hide behind a wall, they'll end up forgetting there is food just there on the other side of the bricks.  
  
Poor souls. The sickness that is the Maladie turns their brains into mush.  
  
Matthew takes a few steps back away from the door. He's already breathing a little easier knowing the Malades will leave them alone from now. They should wait another hour just to make sure the path is clear before making their way to-  
  
But no. He realizes. They won't be going anywhere, especially not to the Castle — as Lance calls their safe place.  
  
Shiro is bitten.  
  
It's over.  
  
Matthew walks back to the man and sits down next to him, exactly where he was before. His eyes are onto the ground, looking at some stains he doesn't want to know the origin of, and the blade is slowly spinning between his fingers.  
  
''Do it, Matt.'' Shiro breathes in the silence, and Matthew is abruptly reminded of their conversation.  
  
The fact comes to him, then, that if they actually do it, Matthew will have to be the one holding the knife. He'll have to be the one taking a part of Shiro away, as the man can't do it with only one hand- but Matthew can't do it either.  
  
He pivots his head up and faces his friend again.  
  
''Wait, I can't-'' he tries to say, but the words are stuck in his throat.  
  
However, Shiro seems to understand him perfectly.  
  
''Please.'' he says. ''I can't do it myself, and it's the only way to save me.''  
  
''There has to be another way!'' he argues, but he knows, deep down, that there isn't.  
  
Shiro seems to know, too.  
  
''There isn't.''  
  
The words hurt, and Matthew is suddenly filled with hate. Hate for this, hate the situation they're in. He hates the Cities for leaving them behind. He hates the fucking scientists who probably created the Maladie, because something like that just don't appear out of nowhere. He hates the fact that he wasn't close enough to knock down that Malade who snuck up behind Shiro. He hates-  
  
''Matt.'' Shiro says again, and Matthew releases the pressure his fingers hold around blade.  
  
He watches how blood flows from the small cuts but he doesn't feel the pain. He doesn't feel anything, which he is glad for, as he's not panicking anymore; but it also scares him, in a way.  
  
''It might not work.'' he sighs, and even his voice stopped trembling. ''And even if it does, the bleeding could-''  
  
Shiro nods, and his gaze falls onto the floor.  
  
''We have no way of knowing for sure, but if we don't do anything, I'm gonna-'' the man stops, and Matthew notices the fear breaking through his wall of calmness and confidence. Shiro takes a deep breath before continuing. ''I'm gonna be infected and that's sure to happen.''  
  
For a few minutes, nothing else is said. There is nothing to say. Either Shiro goes through physical torture to lose an arm and Matthew goes through psychological torture to cut his friend in half, or they don't do anything and the Maladie starts to make itself known and Shiro becomes one of them.  
  
They don't really have a choice. Either way, they're doomed.  
  
''Please.'' Shiro murmurs.  
  
Matthew takes the time to breathe before looking at Shiro in the eyes.  
  
''What if it doesn't work?'' he can't help to ask.  
  
Shiro closes his eyes, a pained expression on his face.  
  
''Then you will have to kill me before I can hurt you.''  
  
The reaction is immediate.  
  
''Shiro!''  
  
''Please, Matt!'' the man exclaims. Letting his injury go, he puts his bloody hand on Matthew's cheek. None of them care for the red now covering the smaller one’s face as they are both already dirty. Shiro makes sure Matthew's gaze is onto him before speaking again. ''That's why I want you to cut if off. At least then I have a chance.''  
  
A sob breaks through Matt's lips, his feelings and emotions slowly returning to him.  
  
''I don't want to hurt you...'' he says, his voice breaking toward the end of his sentence.  
  
Shiro leans forward and presses his forehead to Matthew's. They both close they eyes and breathe into each other's presence, finding comfort in the fact that the other is still here...  
  
But for how long?  
  
''I know you don't.'' Shiro murmurs, and Matthew can feel the man frown against him. ''But I don't want to hurt you either... Please, Matt.''  
  
But he can’t.  
  
‘’I don't-’’  
  
‘’You are not hurting me.’’ Shiro stops him. His thumb caresses Matthew’s cheek, and when he smaller man opens his eyes they immediately face Shiro’s own dark pupils, so full of conviction Matthew can almost believe him… Almost. The man takes his time reassuring his friend before continuing. ‘’You are saving me.’’  
  
‘’By hurting you.’’ Matthew can’t help but argue.  
  
Shiro sighs, and his breath blows a drop of blood away, leaving only cold on its path.  
  
‘’It's a necessary pain.’’  
  
But Matthew can’t.  
  
‘’It might be a useless one!’’ he shouts, suddenly getting up onto his feet.  
  
He abandons the blade onto the ground near Shiro and walks in circles around the small room, hands roaming in his hair and keeping his back to the man so he isn’t in his vision.  
  
He can’t. He can’t. He _can’t_! It’s impossible, he cannot do this, cannot hurt him. What if he fails? What if Shiro gets through torture just to die because he wasn't fast enough to stop the venom, or because he made the man bleed so much he-  
  
He-  
  
_No_.  
  
He stops. His hands still in his hair and his gaze stares at the ground.  
  
_No_.  
  
He curls his fingers and squeezes his hair. _In and out_. he hears Coran repeat in his mind. _In and out_.  
  
Slowly he calms down.  
  
And when Shiro whispers a word, so silently he isn’t sure he heard right, he lets his hair go and turns to the man.  
  
‘’Please.’’ he said.  
  
And the drying blood on his face gets humid again when tears drops slide over it. Matthew breathes in again.  
  
‘’I-’’  
  
But he can’t say anything. What can he say? He can’t accept that, he can’t do it! Surely Shiro should know by now! And-  
  
Wait. Isn’t he killing him? By refusing to do it, isn’t he killing him? He is, he realizes. He _is_ killing him, because if he doesn’t do anything, then the venom will reach his brain and will turn it into mush.  
  
He’s _killing_ him.  
  
‘’Matthew.’’  
  
His full name, so rarely used he nearly forgot how it sounded, brings him back to the real world. He looks at Shiro and doesn’t avoid his gaze.  
  
The man is afraid, too. It’s written in his eyes, he doesn’t want to do it. But Shiro knows it’s the only way to save him, and he already accepted it. Now, Matthew has to accept it too, and as fast as possible, before the venom can do any damage.  
  
The smaller man rubs his face, knocking his glasses off in the process; they fall on the ground, but he doesn’t mind if they break. They’re already broken, what can an another fall do? He reaches down and grabs them before putting them back where they’re supposed to be: on his face. When his vision is mostly corrected again, he focuses back onto Shiro.  
  
He tries to hold his gaze when he speaks, but he isn’t successful.  
  
‘’Okay…’’ he sighs, looking at the red floor next to the man.  
  
When Shiro replies, his heart squeezes painfully.  
  
‘’Thank you.’’  
  
He shouldn’t thank him, he’s going to _cut his arm off_.  
  
God, what has he just agreed to?

 

* * *

  
Shiro screams. A lot. And Matthew nearly stops. A lot. He knows he’ll remember the sound of the bone he had to break in his dreams for the rest of his life. But it’s already been a long time since he last dreamed. Most of the time, it’s just nightmares.  
  
When it’s over, the tortured man passes out, and Matthew is left alone with the knife of his father covered in blood, an arm and an unconscious friend.  
  
Hours later, he’s still there. Waiting. But he still doesn’t know if Shiro will wake up, or if he does, Matthew doesn’t know if it will be as Shiro or…

 

* * *

  
He fell asleep, dreamed of Shiro waking up as a Malade and eating him.  
  
He doesn’t fall asleep again after that.

 

* * *

 

Shiro wakes up. He’s-

 


End file.
